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Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

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Facilitating Collaboration Among Health Care Professionals, Robin Cooper

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper explores how principles and practices of mediation and facilitation can be applied to facilitate collaboration among health care professionals. Certain techniques of mediation and facilitation are uniquely suited to address issues of values, roles, communication, and teamwork—four core competency domains of interprofessional collaborative practice—within the organizational context in order to transform workplace conflict into constructive collaboration. This paper discusses how one might draw upon those mediation and facilitation skills and techniques in order to address profession-centrism, professional prejudice, and us vs. them thinking, which hinder interprofessional collaboration. Those trained in the theories and practices associated with conflict analysis …

From Positionality To Relationality: A Buddhist-Oriented Relational View Of Conflict Escalation And Its Transformation, Ran Kuttner

Peace and Conflict Studies

Through a theoretical analysis, this paper suggests that the Buddhist philosophy and psychology offer a unique contribution to our understanding of conflict escalation and the potential for its transformation from a relational point of view. In particular, it presents an in-depth analysis of conflict escalation, applying the Buddhist Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links models. With the help of these models, it analyzes the psychological process that invokes the escalation of conflict, resulting in what is considered “suffering” (Duhkha) in Buddhist thought, seen also as lack of relational awareness. The paper demonstrates how a Buddhist-oriented view of conflict adds value …

Residential Summer Camp: A New Venue For Nutrition Education And Physical Activity Promotion, Alison K. Ventura, Barry A. Garst

Publications

Millions of children attend residential summer camps each year. However, few studies have examined the potential of camps for obesity prevention efforts. Research in the domain of positive youth development has shown that camp programs as short as one week have both short- and long-term positive effects on self-esteem, self-efficacy and other youth outcomes. The objective of the present study was to highlight the potential of resident camps as promising venues for the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity behaviors in the children who attend.

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Farmer Training In Ghanaian Cocoa Farming, Michael Norton

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

While billions of dollars flow into low-income countries each year to help alleviate poverty, assessing the effectiveness of these dollars is a challenging task. The literature is rich in studies that measure the benefits of rural development programs. However, many of these studies lack a temporal dimension because they measure cost and benefits for only capital investments and for only a single, static year, while not accounting for skill enhancement. By only measuring net producer benefits during the life of the development program, the cost-benefit analyses (CBA) may not truly capture the full net benefits of a given program. In …

The Effect Of Public Policy On Health Service Providers, Marier Allison

Economics - Dissertations

Chapter 1

Low-income, publicly insured admissions historically cost more to treat than the average patient. To ensure that hospitals are reimbursed an adequate amount for care of indigent populations, Medicare reimburses hospitals an additional percentage amount according to federally set financial schedule. The reimbursement cutoff is discrete: at fifteen percent of a disproportionate patient percentage, a hospital is reimbursed an extra 2.5 percent of the standard prospective payment rate. I extend a simple model of hospital quality as a function of insurance reimbursement increases to determine that under certain circumstances there exists a positive relationship between quality and reimbursement. I …

Does The Endowment Effect Influence Outcomes In Takings Cases? An Exploratory Look At Some Important Cases And Suggestions For Additional Research, Rayman Mohamed

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

The endowment effect predicts that people value losses more than gains. I examine whether the effect sheds light on courts’ takings decisions. My findings include the following: (1) regulations that emphasize losses rather than gains are more likely to survive judicial review; (2) endowments can include comprehensive plans, development plans, permits, etc; (3) both governments and landowners can acquire endowments to sway courts in their favor; (4) occupying land creates a strong endowment; and (5) implementing plans helps to cement endowments. I suggest research that examines more cases, hypotheses that emerge from my analyses, and characteristics of the effect related …

Acting To Address The Ocean-Related Impacts Of Climate Change On Human And National Security, With Recommendations For Priority Actions Drawn From The Discussions Of The Global Conference On Oceans, Climate And Security At The University Of Massachusetts Boston, Robbin Peach, Felix Dodds, Michael Strauss, Collaborative Institute For Oceans, Climate And Security, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Collaborative Institute for Oceans, Climate and Security Publications

In the course of the past calendar year the United States has been struck by a series of droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, wildfires, and floods whose size and path of resulting damage defy previously established patterns. The U.S. thus joins nations on every continent that have increasingly experienced extreme and extremely damaging weather events over the past two decades.

At the same time, the world’s oceans have been exhibiting a less-visible but equally dangerous sequence of temperature rise, acidification increase, fish kills, coastal erosion, salinity shifts, algae blooms, and steady decreases in commercially available fish and shellfish species.

Those impacts …

The Land Use And Rapid Transportation Nexus In The Massachusetts Bay, Jennifer Folz

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Throughout the last several decades a growing emphasis has been placed on creating sustainable places through innovative planning practices. Urban designers, researchers, planners, and policy makers have continuously examined the land use transportation nexus in order to develop methods to efficiently guide transit funding to encourage alternate modes of travel.
The United States is in the middle of a paradigm shift in generational behaviors. Baby boomers are downsizing and according to the Urban Land Institute are looking for more location-efficient residences. Similarly, Generation Y's attitudes are focused on living and working in close proximity. They are also waiting longer …

Incentives For Distributed Generation In California: The Rise Of Third-Party Solar Development, Joshua M. Propp

Pomona Senior Theses

There are a series of state and federal incentives in California to encourage the installation of distributed generation (DG) renewable energy, largely photovoltaic (PV). This thesis explores the policies behind the incentives, namely the Federal Investment Tax Credit, California Solar Initiative, and Net Energy Metering requirements. Discussion is informed by environmental policy tools, as well as business models that have acted to increase accessibility to these investment-intensive projects. Underlying this analysis is the theme of a shifting energy paradigm, with distributed generation spreading political, economic, and electric power.

Food And Community, W. K. Kellog Fou9ndation

Mickey Leland Center Information Portal

The purpose of this guide is to present a consistent voice and set of messages for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Food & Community program. These messages are catalysts that tell the story of our work together – what the work is about and, more importantly, why it matters. This guide is for W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) grantees, partners and staff involved in Food & Community. We are all in this together, working to reach our individual, organizational and collective goals. Though we each have messages specific to our cause, we can build a stronger national voice – and increase our …

Postville High School 2013 Commencement Program, Postville High School

Postville Project Documents

The program for the 2013 Postville High School commencement ceremony.

Fifth Anniversary Interfaith Prayer Program

Postville Project Documents

The program for the interfaith prayer service commemorating the five-year anniversary of the Agriprocessors immigration raid.

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 38-Bb, No. 5, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Solidarity and Solitary

Eugene V. Debs During World War I

Tras el Maratón de Boston

Voices From Inside

Tourist Intentions To Continue Poverty Alleviation Actions After Participating In Microfinance Tourism, Michelle Nance

All Theses

The tourism industry has begun to incorporate microfinance into a new type of niche tourism that integrates local entrepreneurs and tourists. This type of tourism is called microfinance tourism. The study investigates the tourist role in poverty alleviation using the Theory of Planned Behavior to explore how attitude, perceived behavioral control, and social norms impact intention to continue investment and/or donation to microentrepreneurs and microfinance organizations. The study was conducted in conjunction with Investours, a non-profit organization that offers `microfinance tours' in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The study found perceived behavioral control and attitude to be …

Gentrification And Displacement Study: Implementing An Equitable Inclusive Development Strategy In The Context Of Gentrification, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study focuses on the effects on the housing market, particularly the loss of affordable housing. It builds upon earlier studies to consider a broader interpretation of displacement that encompasses not just when a household is forced to move by conditions that affect the dwelling, but also to take into account changes in the neighborhood as a whole. These neighborhood changes can result in a neighborhood’s inability to provide basic services that make it impossible to continue residency as a “voluntary” response. Housing in Portland is almost exclusively produced by the private sector, with a limited public sector role through …

A Tribute To William D. Duncombe, John Yinger

Center for Policy Research

It’s Elementary is a series of essays on topics in education and education policy. The main focus is on education finance in New York State, but general research findings in education and education policy issues in several other states are also discussed. John Yinger, Professor of Economics and Public Administration at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University is the author of most of these essays, although a few are written by or co-authored with other scholars.

Massacre In Central Burma: Muslim Students Terrorized And Killed In Meiktila, Richard Sollom, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

This report details the results of a Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) investigation into the March 20 and 21, 2013, attacks on Muslim students, teachers, and residents in the Mingalar Zayyone quarter of Meiktila, a small town in central Burma.

A two-person team, the authors of the report, from PHR conducted 33 interviews about the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of at least 20 children and four teachers. The report details the attacks by the Buddhist mobs, provides evidence that local police officers were complicit in the crimes, and lists policy recommendations for the Burmese government and the international …

Missouri National Recreational River 2012 Resource Brief, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Kara Paintner

United States National Park Service: Publications

Includes brief information on plant community monitoring, water quality monitoring, and weather and climate monitoring for the Missouri National Recreational River in the United States for 2012.

Managing Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Helen Levine

Commonwealth Compact

Commonwealth Compact is an organization formed to help make Massachusetts a location of choice for people of color and women in the belief that their contributions are vital to the region’s social and economic future. The need for an initiative such as Commonwealth Compact stems from a number of factors. As racial and ethnic diversity increases across the nation, business and civic leaders agree that it is critical to reverse the reputation that Massachusetts and Greater Boston, in particular, have not been seen as a welcoming, diverse place to live and work for people of color. Without a better reputation …

Recommendations To The City Of South Portland, Related To Phase 2 Of The Energy Action Plan, Karen Purinton

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

South Portland’s Energy Action Plan (EAP) has not been updated since the completion and approval of the most recent South Portland Comprehensive Plan in October 2012. The current EAP has three phases, of which the first has been partially implemented, calling for energy and other resource conservation practices to be put in place in all City departments. Phase 2 is concerned with how the municipality can engage and incentivize businesses within the City to address energy use and efficiency, and is discussed in three sections below. Phase 3, yet to be drafted, will address residential opportunities for decreased energy use …

Cracking The Tax Codes: How State Tax Laws Influence The Number Of Manufacturing Jobs Within Their Borders, Nick Lorenson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

With the recent economic downturn, jobs have been at the forefront of people’s concerns. Policy makers in every state have promised their constituents new jobs. Of particular importance are high paying jobs. Manufacturing jobs tend to be a well-paying and highly sought after form of employment. However, in recent decades, the percentage of manufacturing jobs has been declining in the United States. Also, manufacturing facilities have shown an increased likelihood of relocating to different states. I theorize that manufacturing facilities relocating and expanding in different states is primarily due to state tax policies. This phenomenon has increased within recent years …

An Analysis On The Effects Of Voter Id Laws And Minnesota’S Decision To Vote Against It, Amy Asell

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In recent years, the topic of voter identification has been a hotly contested issue in state legislatures around the country. Since 2003, nearly 1,000 bills concerning voter ID have been introduced in a total of forty-six states. In 2012 alone, voter ID legislation was pending in thirty-three states. On November 6, 2012, the citizens of the state of Minnesota voted on whether they supported an amendment to the state Constitution that would require all voters to present a valid photo ID in order to vote. Despite poll numbers indicating that a majority of Minnesotans supported the amendment the voter ID …

Research And Development Of A Land Use Scenario Modeling Tool, John Gliebe, Hongwei Dong, Josh Frank Roll

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Transportation Planning and Analysis Unit (TPAU) developed a land use modeling tool called the “Land Use Scenario Developer in R” (LUSDR). LUSDR is a modeling tool, written in the “R” language, that may be used to predict and analyze regional land use changes probabilistically, creating a distribution of possible outcomes. It is designed to be integrated with travel demand modeling programs, making it potentially valuable for analyzing the interaction between transportation and land use when assessing various growth-policy and socioeconomic assumptions. This project is Phase 2 for Research and Development of a Land Use Scenario …

Achieving Justice Through Public Participation: Measuring The Effectiveness Of New York's Enhanced Public Participation Plan For Environmental Justice Communities, Alma L. Lowry

Social Science - Dissertations

Public participation is at the heart of democracy and of the environmental justice movement. Most state-level environmental justice policies and regulations focus on improving public participation within administrative processes to ensure that communities have a voice in the environmental decisions that affect them. New York has adopted an environmental justice policy that follows this model and requires enhanced notice, accessible comment opportunities, and improved access to technical information for new major environmental permits issued to facilities proposed in low-income or minority communities. However, New York's policy, like other state participation-focused environmental justice policies, has yet to be evaluated.

To address …

Personal Protective Clothing: Law Enforcement Officers’ Attitudes And Safety Behavior Assessments Toward High-Visibility Safety Apparel, So Young Song

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Traffic related fatalities are one of the most common workplace hazards in the law enforcement community. They accounted for approximately 44% of all fatalities within the law enforcement occupational field between 2002 and 2011. Although many law enforcement officers’ deaths are due to being struck by vehicles, these could be prevented with the use of High-Visibility Safety Apparel (HVSA). The importance of raising traffic protective behavior compliance is largely overlooked by misperceptions in the workplace. Relatively few studies have examined HVSA wearing behaviors associated with social psychological human elements. It has still remained unclear as subjective or objective experiences. Proper …

The Las Vegas Promise Neighborhood Initiative: A Community-Based Approach To Improving Educational Opportunity & Achievement, Sonya D. Horsford, Carrie Sampson

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

Since the 1980s, the standards and accountability movement in U.S. education has focused heavily on reform at the classroom and school level, with insufficient regard for how social, political, and community contexts impact student learning and achievement (Berliner, 2006; Horsford, 2010; Noguera, 2003; Oakes, 1989; Wells et al., 2004). This emphasis on standardization and high-stakes testing has stigmatized, and in many instances, penalized low-income and historically underserved students and communities through the use of student subgroup and school designations. It also largely has ignored the research literature documenting the significant impact poverty, neighborhood context, and related out-of-school factors such as …

Childcare And Youth Training And Technical Assistance Project (Cyttap) May 2013 Evaluation Report, Kit Alviz, Tonia Renee Durden

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The Childcare and Youth Training and Technical Assistance Project (CYTTAP) works to improve the quality and quantity of child care in 13 states with high densities of off-installation military families. From November 2011 through April 2013, face-to-face trainings, train-the-trainer events, and low- or no-cost online trainings were attended by over 14,000 individuals. Trainings included Better Kid Care (a wide range of topics including partnerships with parents, health and safety, nutrition and physical activity, and curriculum planning); Getting Started in Family Child Care (about starting a family child care business), I Am Moving, I Am Learning (about preventing childhood obesity); and …

The Forgotten Half Of Food System Reform: Using Food And Agricultural Law To Foster Healthy Food Production, Emily Broad Leib

Journal of Food Law & Policy

America is facing widespread problems with its food system, including environmental harms due to externalities from industrial farms; the increasing amount of "food _miles" traveled by the products that make up our daily meals; and the growing size and complexity of recent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Indeed, the entire system that covers the life cycle of food, through production, processing, distribution, consumption, and food waste management, is in crisis. One of the most disturbing of these well-documented problems with the industrial food system is the increase in rates of obesity and diet-related illnesses. Obesity rates in the U.S. have more …

United States Food Law Update: Shrouded By Election-Year Politics, State Initiatives And Private Lawsuits Fill In The Gaps Created By Congressional And Agency Ossification, A. Bryan Endres, Lisa R. Schlessinger, Rachel Armstrong

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Observers of food law in the 2012 presidential election year witnessed a dramatic slowing of federal initiatives-perhaps arising from a desire by both Congress and the administration to avoid upsetting critical constituent groups during a year seemingly dominated by campaigns and endless talking points. For example, Congress failed to take action on a unique compromise between what some had considered mortal enemies-the Humane Society of the United States and United Egg Producers-that would implement a federal animal welfare standard for laying hens in return for abandoning ballot measures in various states. Similarly, the FDA waited until the early days of …